There are environments where there is a danger that occupants or inhabitants might accidentally injure themselves or may try to cause harm to themselves or others, such as hospitals (in particular mental health wards or institutions) or prisons. Steps are taken in such environments with the goal of reducing potential harm or risk of such occurrences, e.g. by renovation or refurbishment, or by building and furnishing with such risk reduction in mind. For example, structures and furnishings made of soft materials and/or having rounded edges to reduce potential for serious injury may be used. Particular focus may be on surfaces or structures on which clothing or other flexible materials may be draped or wrapped and which may then present a risk of ligature (i.e. “ligature points”), and consideration may be given to reducing or eliminating such risk.
Commercial flush valves for toilets, in particular, present areas (including potential ligature points) on which a person may injure themselves or others. They can be a significant risk due to exposed plumbing, connections, and levers or handles used to operate the valve, which provide several locations that can be used for ligature attachment. Some toilet plumbing designs make valves and/or other plumbing parts unobservable and/or not immediately accessible (e.g. in water tanks in residential examples) for aesthetic purposes, to limit usage of space, and/or to limit damage to parts. The structures that hide such plumbing are not, however, designed to prevent attachment of ligature.
In many cases the toilet flush valve or other working parts are not completely covered, or can easily be accessed. For example, a residential tank or cover may be easily lifted off or otherwise removed for service by the homeowner. As another example, a handle that pivots or is pushed to operate the flush valve is on the outside of a tank. A shroud that has a hole in the side leaving the lever extending for flushing does not remove that area for ligature attachment. Such tanks or similar items are not effective as anti-ligature devices because the handle, or any other exposed or accessible portions of the valve, can provide a ligature point.
A shroud for toilet plumbing shown in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0174392 is formed using multiple pieces that are assembled around the plumbing. Although this system may generally hide the flush valve, using multiple pieces necessitates connection points between the pieces on the surface of the cover. Having such connection points increases the risk that one of these connections will fail, allowing access to ligature points within the valve cover. Further, the device is not robust enough for behavioral health care or other facilities that may see violent or suicidal occupants. A person wishing to access the flush valve may able to break the cover or pry the cover open at the seams created by the separate pieces, especially if the surface of the cover is not smooth at the seams. If the seams have space between the respective parts, they may themselves present potential ligature points. Such a device is not easily removed for maintenance purposes as well.
There remains a need for an anti-ligature toilet flush valve cover that greatly alleviates the risk of access to a flush valve by a person unauthorized to have such access.